Chapter : 9 : Xiao Ming vs Xiao Zhan ( Part : 2 ) :
Location : Xiao Clan Training Ground :
At this moment the entire training ground buzzed with excitement and cheers .
Two hours ago the competition finally began and one after another matches were held where one became the victor and the other became the loser .
After each match the senior brothers and sisters who came with the elders gave their evaluation of the battle and told both the victors and the losers what they were lacking and what they can do to improve better .
At first many thought that the elders would be the one to give those advices but apparently they had no interest in doing so .
Apparently the elders too were testing the senior brothers and sisters seeing whether or not they have the analysis capabilities that is required for future teachers and elders .
Afterall cultivation level and power where just one of the aspects of becoming a high ranking official and elder in the clan .
With powerfull cultivation one also needed to have other capabilities like teaching or Alchemy for that .
Xiao Ming who was sitting at a corner looking at the matches one after another felt quite bored .
The fights so far were mostly fought between side characters whom perhaps Xiao Ming wouldn't even remember in the future .
And while there cultivation level and fighting spirits were commendable for there position this did not pick any interest from Xiao Ming .
Even the fights where Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yun participated it was too much one sided as almost no one even lastted more than two strikes against them .
Only reason why cheers for their matches were constant was mostly because of their popularity .
Even the elders on the VIP stage looked uninterested at the matches with the fifth elder showing a polite smile and the fourth elder as usual was very expressive in his disinterest and anger towards this competition .
The only once who were truly excited were the other young cultivators because while these matches were boring and slow for Xiao Ming , to them they were giving their all .
They have never witnessed high level combat before and to them this level was already good enough and felt quite exciting .
Moreover the second party who were just as excited were the senior brothers and sisters setting behind the arena constantly giving their evaluation of the matches .
However their reason for excitement was quite different.
To them it was a chance to showcase their own analytical skills in front of the elders especially the second elder .
If they could give good evaluation and advices to the younger cultivators then there was a chance that the second elder or any of the elders will give them more notice .
Moreover many of them have already decided that their future path would be to stay in the clan and act as teacher to the younger generation so it was a valuable experience gainer for them .
As for how his matches went let's say he won all of them earing him a bit of a game as he was the only one after Xiao Yun and Xiao Zhan to win all his matches .
But while fighting Xiao Ming held back his strength back considerably .
The first reason was obviously because he didn't need to use all his strength against his opponents yet .
Yes there were some strong opponents but not nearly strong enough to use his true power.
The second reason was that he intended to hide his true power especially his use of the Evading Fist technique before fighting Xiao Zhan .
And unlike the other main characters who would deliberately act too weak going as far as to almost lose to side characters Xiao Ming had no intentions of doing that .
The second elder and the others were watching if he acted like that after the second elder had already taken notice of him it would not be beneficial because he act will be caught instantly .
So he made his acting was as little as possible so that it feels natural after all holding back your strength for a bigger fight in front of you was a natural response that would not attract any unwanted attention .
And now it was time for his patience and hard work to come to shine .
" Next contestants Xiao Ming And Xiao Zhan please come to the arena . "
Hearing this Xiao Ming closed his eyes for a moment and then walked slowly but steadly towards the arena .
" Let's do it . "
Location Change : VIP seats :
" This year the students are showing a lot of excitement won't you say second elder . " - asked Xiao Mei looking at the fights below with a quite smile on her face .
Xiao Mei as the fifth elder was very much opposite to Xiao Fu and was known for her kindness and good hearted nature .
She leads the Alchemy division of the clan and is an tier 6 Alchemist and has gained the title of Alchemy emperor .
" Yes ! Indeed they are quite energetic and excited . This is a good sign for our clan that the younger generation is so motivated ." - the second elder nodded in agreement with the fifth elder .
However it seemed that one of them did not agree with this statement .
" Scoff ! Good you say ? I say they are all below average . " - the fourth elder scoffed and coldly interrupted the conversation .
" If Xiao Zhan wasn't participating I wouldn't have to waste time in a place like this . " - he stated simply as if stating a fact .
" And giving all of them a 1st tier Alchemist pill for just participating . Second elder don't you think that's too much waste of clan's resources we could have used them for better reasons . " - Xiao Fu now sounding really irritated complained to the second elder .
Xiao Fu genuinely sounded discontent with the distribution of The alchemist pills .
However both the second elder and the fifth elder new very well it was not the resources that he was upset about it was the fact that is decision was suggested by the clan head Xiao Fang himself .
This give him much support from both the elders and the younger generation which Xiao Fu didn't like at all .
" They are just starting their cultivation journey for now they are not in our level where such fight can be considered irrelevant ." - Xiao Peng said .
" So I would advise you to stop comparing them to your level because not everyone is like your grandson Xiao Zhan ." - the second elder replied with an even tone .
" Moreover the alchemist pills and other resources given are for their progress and if we don't cultivate our younger generation properly how will they become the clans future pillars . " - he continued to say .
" Fourth elder your grandson is indeed a genius but you should teach him some restraint look at how he is fighting . " - Xiao Mei also spoke up and showed her discontent with Xiao Zhan's fighting style .
So far Xiao Zhan had won all his matches like Xiao Yun and Xiao Ming .
But unlike both of them Xiao Zhan didn't care about holding his strength back and sometimes intentionally struck with more force than required badly injuring his opponents in the process .
The situation came to such a point where some opponents even directly surrendered right before the battle even started willing to part ways with the reward of participating than to fight him .
While injuries were to be expected in competition like this but the way Xiao Zhan acted that not even caring about the fact that all the people he was facing were member of his own Clan made the matter worse .
Obviously this did not gain him any sympathy or goodwill from those around him .
This only made his expression look even bad in the eyes of the fifth elder who highly disapproved of his attitude from the beginning .
On the other hand Xiao Yun and Xiao Ming who also defeated all their opponents showed leniency and Xiao Ming in particular even helped his defeated opponents to stand up after the fight was over and asked whether or not they were okay .
This earned him more respect from his colleagues and created a good impression both on the fifth and the second elder's much to the fourth elder's disdain .
" And what about it ? I don't see anything wrong with what Xiao Zhan did . He defeated his opponents and there are always injuries in battles 5th elder ."
The fourth elder didn't seem to be slightly affected by Xiao Mei's words and continued to defend his grandson's actions .
To him his grandson did not do anything wrong on the contrary he should be praised for his strength .
Instead he was being criticized for what ? Just winning .
Injuries were a part of battle and this is something all the cultivators here will learn in the future when they go outside of the clan for various missions .
In this way it can also be argued that his grandson was actually doing good showing these new cultivators what a true fight of a cultivator in this dangerous world looks like .
He always felt that the fifth elder in particular was too soft hearted and was not strong enough to be an elder .
Personally he would have never accepted her as an elder but her position as a 6th tier Alchemist makes her position very stable .
Just as their heated discussion was going on , the announcement of the next match between Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan happened catching there attention .
" Oh ! Now that's a quite interesting match up . It seems Xiao Zhan might face some challenges in this fight . " - the second elder remarked paying more attention to this match especially to Xiao Ming .
Earlier when he realised his Dou Qi infused voice technique only three people were able to stand straight despite the pressure .
And while he expected it from Xiao Yun and Xiao Zhan another boy managed to withstand the pressure which greatly surprised him .
Afterwards he asked one of the subordinates present about who this boy was and found out about his identity .
Apparently his name was Xiao Ming and he was an orphan member of the clan .
His parents apparently were Dou masters and died during a mission fighting for the clan .
After seeing their records the second elder seemed to realise that he has met them before on a small occasion because they were working under a special task force under first elder at that time .
But that's all he new about them personally after all Dou masters we strong but not enough to directly meet an Dou Emperor like himself .
" He ? You must be joking second elder . Yes he won all his matches and is certainly stronger than the rest but he is no match for my grandson . " - Xiao Fu said with indignation at very fact that some unknown boy was compared to his grandson .
" How capable he is will be seen in the match fourth elder we just need to be patient but remember one thing do not underestimate anyone just because you don't know who he or she is . " - Xiao Peng said .
Xiao Fu didn't reply but gave a cold snort and refocused his attention on the arena where both of the fighters have already arrived .
" Let's see what you can do boy . " - the second elder softly whispered under his breath looking forward to this battle .
Location Change : Battle Arena :
Surrounded by a huge and excited crowd of audiences who cheered in excitement both Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan entered the arena .
Xiao Zhan entered through the left side of the arena his steps fast and untamed .
His face showed his usual arrogance and overconfidence .
But had a tiny hint of interest in his eyes something not usually seen .
On the other side Xiao Ming entered through the right side of the arena , his steps calm and composed -;not too fast not too slow .
As both of them stood in front of each other in the arena the referee of the match a senior brother came forward .
" Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan if anyone of you wishes to leave the fight can speak up now . " - with no answers from both of them the referee concluded that no one wanted to leave .
" Both of you will fight an unarmed combat match and the one to fall to the ground first and enable to continue the battle will lose . "
" Moreover if you leave the arena you will be the qualified automatically as well . " - both of them nodded in understanding .
" Additionally if you think that you want to leave during the battle then you can either call it out or step out of the arena in that case you will lose and the other person will be called the victor . "
" And lastly I would like to remind you both that this is a friendly competition between members of our same clan so I advise you both to show restraint in your actions during the battle . " - in the last part the senior brother specifically looked at Xiao Zhan giving him a warning .
But Xiao Zhan didn't care as he focused his attention towards his current opponent .
Seeing this the senior brother could only sigh in disappointment thinking that he had already done the best he could do and the rest was up to Xiao Ming .
Whatever happened now he had to face it by himself .
" ALRIGHT SINCE BOTH OF YOU UNDERSTAND UNDERSTAND THE RULES NOW LET THE BATTLE BEGIN !!!! "
To Be Continued .